TRP: Goro and Mishka (Mutual)
Coyote: at 10:39 PM Nightfall, the first night the party is spending at Mishka's estate. After burying Bethie and after the Goro-Nixie bathing talk. The estate was starting to feel stifling. There were too many people around, and the house was trashed. They'd managed to get everything together well enough; the glass swept up, the rugs righted, furniture moved back into its proper places. It looked like Mishka's house again, albeit missing a few things. It still felt fucking terrible, though; like the scene of a crime, not his home anymore. He motioned to Hansel where he was going (around the side of the house), then slipped outside. He sat outside. It was cooler now, past nightfall. If Diva wanted to hurt him, this was the moment she'd rip it away. She'd gotten bored with outright torture, before. With the outright abuse. She'd started escalating to giving him happy little fantasies-- like this-- and then taking them away later. Quiet fantasies about killing her and getting away safely. Sometimes she'd send him back to the pirate days, and he'd dream of kissing Hansel for the first time, and having quiet days at sea together. And then she'd take it away and turn it into nightmares again. Those were always the worst. He sat against the house in a dark corner, hidden against the steps. He sank his nails into his wrist until it bled. He'd quit doing it in a few days, once things felt better. It wasn't a forever thing, just a temporary measure to make himself feel better. It would sting overnight, and that would remind him it was real this time. Unless she'd faked not being able to give him physical pain. Unless that was just another fucking screw. God. Lina: at 10:47 PM Goro didn't want to startle him, so he kicked up some gravel on the path as he approached. Stopped a few feet away, and made sure Mishka was making eye contact with him before he said anything. He spoke in Elvish, because... well, he fucking felt like it. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" Coyote: at 10:51 PM Mishka tensed a little when he heard the noise, then relaxed (one inch) when he saw it was Goro. (No rapier. Dagger in his boot, though. And spells. He still had almost all his spells, which was great, because he could defend the party while they were exhausted like this.) Mishka consciously reminded himself that Goro had been quite helpful in the past-- and he liked Goro, which wasn't fucking relevant-- and Goro didn't seem to have any motive to hurt him. He felt tight because he was traumatized. That was all. And if this was in fact a particularly long and in-depth hallucination, he couldn't imagine how Goro was going to tie into it. Breathe. "Sure," he said, also in Elvish. "How can I serve?" He forcefully made himself relax and stretched out his legs, crossing them delicately. Lina: at 10:57 PM Shit. It had taken him a few hours to work up the guts to do this, and now that he was here he couldn't figure out what to say. He was tense, again, and jumpy. Any relaxation he'd gotten from the warm bath and being around Nixie had gradually seeped away throughout the evening. He shuffled his feet. Fought the urge to fidget, to dig in his pockets or at his own wrists. (Nice idea, Mishka, thanks.) "It's, uh..." God, he was going to vomit. "Nice night, huh?" Coyote: at 10:59 PM "Yeah. Siddown. You make me feel better. Maybe I can make you feel better, too," Mishka said. "Fucked up, huh? What she does. You okay? She get you real bad?" Lina: at 11:10 PM Goro sat down on the ground, right where he stood. Fucking gave in, dug his thumbs into every pocket. Took a deep breath and relished the shooting pain it caused him. "Um." Did she get him real bad? He didn't... fuck, he was just going to ask. "How do I know if she got me real bad?" Coyote: at 11:13 PM "I don't know," Mishka said shortly. "I just assumed. She hated you. She didn't even give a shit about me, but she still spent--" He stopped, jaw clenching. He stood up. "I need a fucking drink." He headed towards the wine cellar. Lina: at 11:17 PM Goro watched Mishka over his shoulder, wondering if he was supposed to come along or not. He deliberated a moment, then got to his feet to follow. "I'm glad she hated me," he said as they descended the stairs. "I'm glad I pissed her off. That's how I got her, in the end. She knew that... she knew..." He took a moment. Scraped his fingertips along the stone wall, wondering if she could make something feel that realistic. "She knew she'd made a mistake, dealing with me." Coyote: at 11:22 PM Mishka didn't bother with the usual Red Blade wine emblazoned with his red chevron logo. Instead, he unlocked an oak cabinet in the back-- dark wood, disguised against the stonework. He slid it open, selected the vintage he wanted, and tossed it to Goro, then picked a couple more. He headed back upstairs. He thought the whole time about what he wanted to say. "Good," he finally said. "I don't know if she could feel afraid? Bizarre fucking thing. She just... ate and ate people. But I'm glad you got the better of her. Fucking glad we all did. Bitch. Did she do that thing where--" There were outside again now. Mishka kept talking in Elvish, though, just in case. "Did she do that thing where she-- she makes you think you're in the real world and that things are really happening?" Trying to test how far Diva had gone. Lina: at 11:26 PM "Uh-huh," he said. And that was all he could get out. He couldn't remember why he'd come to talk to Mishka. If he wanted comfort, he didn't think he was going to get it. If he wanted coping tips, he'd have to admit how fucked up he was, after only a day. No. Less than a day. Coyote: at 11:37 PM Mishka tasted blood in his mouth and realized he was biting his cheek. Goro was acting differently than usual; no bullshit, no double-talk, to shit-eating grin, no backhanded compliments or blunt insults at just the wrong moments. His body language was a little different, too, just a little bit. Should he say something? It's okay? You're gonna be fine? I'm gonna take care of you? Felt pretty fucking weird to say that. Probably wouldn't come across as sincere, either. Blunt, Hansel had said. But honestly... Mishka wasn't sure that was working for him. "I wish I could say something to make y'feel better," Mishka said. "Some sort've trick to help you ease it. But I haven't fucking got anything. I'm still wondering, honestly, if this is a particularly elaborate fantasy--" He ought to stop, he ought to fucking shut up right now, but he needed to say it. He hadn't been able to tell anyone else so far. "--she did that, she made things seem okay for a while, gave me fantasies about getting out, and then--" His wrist still stung. "It's been getting better, though," Mishka said. "You have no... fucking clue how bad I was, before. When I-- killed those sea trolls, and had the necklace, and... I asked you to get Hansel. I've never felt that way in my life. But it's been getting better. And I'm gonna watch you too, fucker, and help you until you're back on your feet. Tit for tat. Fair's fair." Maybe that was the wrong to say. Frankly, he'd meant it to be comforting, but it came out pretty intimidating. He sat down and drained half the bottle in one go. Lina: at 11:45 PM Weirdly, hearing that did make him feel better. If he wasn't the only one struggling with knowing what was real, that meant it was something you could learn to live with, maybe. "Huh. She didn't make me think I'd gotten out, but I kept expecting her to. Still not sure that's not what's--" He gestured vaguely at the area around them. "I, uh. This is gonna sound nuts, but, mostly she made me not sure which part of me's dreaming and which part of me's awake. I mean, for a long time she had me--" His throat was tightening up. Alone, and small, and crying. "Sometimes I dream that I'm just a kid, still, and I made everyone up. Everyone who cares about me. Ahahaha, fuck. That sounds stupid." He dug through his pockets again. It felt good to tell someone, and terrible at the same time. Like telling someone how you got a scar and waiting for them to call you weak for it. Which, admittedly, had never happened to him. Coyote: at 11:50 PM Mishka stared at Goro, gobsmacked. He slowly put the bottle down. He wasn't sure he'd heard Goro say that many words in a row before. All honest ones, it sounded like, with no bite behind them. Huh. Mishka wet his lips. "She didn't, ah. Do that with me. She made me think I was back on the Red Blade with Hansel sometimes, and happy, so she could take it away again later. But not... I mean... I suppose I didn't have a fucked-up childhood for her to send me to." Then retraced what Goro had said. "That's not stupid. That's fucked." Who dumped their kid on the street, anyway? He edged aside on the ground again, making space if Goro wanted to sit. Lina: at 11:56 PM Goro took the seat. He waved the bottle away when Mishka offered it to him. Looked up at the stars, seeking out familiar patterns. There, a lifetime of memories of looking at the stars, seeing constellations. She'd only told him lies for a day. There was no contest. There wasn't. "Well, here we are," he said. "A couple of fucks who can't tell the difference between what's real and what's not." He felt a rush of bravery, and decided to blurt out the next bit before he lost his nerve. "I think you must be really, uh." He waved his hand around, searching for the right word. "Strong. To still be walking and talking after two weeks of that. I think that if I'd gone much longer, I would've... psh, I don't know. Just fuckin'..." He shrugged. November 12, 2018 Coyote: at 12:04 AM "Goro, fuck off," Mishka said shortly, then shifted to stand. And then, a few seconds too late, Mishka realized the kid was being sincere. Ah, shit. He fell back again and let his back thump against the house. "I mean-- fuck's sake. I was, in fact, on the edge of just running away at all times--" But that would've meant leaving Hansel behind, again. "That note you sent," Mishka said, "to me when I disappeared the first time, right after you brought me back to life. About having Nixie and Hansel and being able to protect me. I was planning on just fucking bolting, before I got that. That was pretty fucking clever. You've got a good read on me." Lina: at 12:07 AM "Yeah. That's what I do." Goro mulled over that a moment, then glanced at Mishka out the corner of his eye. "You have a good read on me?" Coyote: at 12:08 AM Mishka laughed. Lina: at 12:13 AM Goro smiled. A real, full smile. It felt good. "Oh? Are you stumped, then? Do I confuse you?" He cocked an eyebrow. "Do I frustrate you?" Then, he realized how fucking nuts he had to be to turn flirtatious at a time like this, and he looked away, shaking his head. "See, I'm losing my shit. Sorry." Coyote: at 12:18 AM Fuck, this kid was weird. He liked it. But-- fuck, it was weird. Mishka didn't say anything. Yeah, it was frustrating. Fuck it, though-- fuck Goro and fuck himself-- he liked it. He'd quit almost twice and just kept coming back anyway. It kept feeling like he had one more piece, like he'd almost unlocked it, and it was fucking tantalizing. He was going to win this weird little game. He wasn't sure what winning would be, but he was going to. “Hey,” Mishka said. “I have a real fucking awkward question, and you’re welcome to just fuckin’ walk away and ignore it if it doesn’t suite you.” Another drink. “Before. On the ship. When I asked to fight you, and you beat the shit out of me. How come you ran off like I’d stepped on your tail? Were you just having some sort’ve fucked-up flashback, or—” He eyed Goro. “Are you… fuckin’… scared of me?” Lina: at 12:23 AM Goro snorted. He watched Mishka, waiting for him to get to the punchline, or... no? Apparently that was a serious question. Goro tried to laugh again, anyway. Rib pain. Good. "Uh." He tried to think back to the fistfight. Yeah, he'd lost his shit there, for sure. "I don't really know what happened then, just... old habits took over, or something. But uh, why wouldn't I be scared of you?" Coyote: at 12:26 AM "Mm." Mishka considered a couple different answers. "Well, this is typically where I say 'because I'm actually on your side and I'm not going to kill you.' But that's what I say to everyone before I kill them. So." Lina: at 12:27 AM Goro pointed at him and made a clicking sound with his tongue. "There it is." Coyote: at 12:29 AM Mishka tried not to smirk and failed. "There what was?" Lina: at 12:30 AM Did he really need it spelled out for him? Shit. "You're the best liar I've ever known. I've got no fucking way of knowing you're not planning to fry me at the next available opportunity. Like, now." He glanced up and knocked his fist against the side of the house. "Suppose you'd wait until I was out of range of this beauty." Coyote: at 12:31 AM "Mhm. Suppose so. Dangerous, huh. And cunning. That's me. Caught you in my web, have I?" Lina: at 12:32 AM "Are you calling yourself dangerous and cunning sarcastically?" Coyote: at 12:34 AM "No," Mishka said, snorting into his wine. He couldn't stop smiling. "I'm being full of myself. It's funny because it's true. Alright, fair point. I just didn't consider it from your side. S'pose I'm used to freaking people out, a bit. I like it that way." Lina: at 12:34 AM "Mm. I am always on my toes, with you. It's never boring." Coyote: at 12:36 AM "Well, I want you to know once I finish my master plan to stab you in the back and leave you to die somewhere, I'm going to be very sad and maybe even feel a bit bad about it," Mishka said. "I like you." Lina: at 12:38 AM Goro rested his head against the wall and shook it a few times. "Can't believe you'd upset Nixie like that." Coyote: at 12:40 AM "Oh, she's in on it too, naturally," Mishka said. "She's my apprentice. I'm attempting to teach her subterfuge. Of course, since you're the hero in this little story and I'm the villain, naturally, she's going to turn on me and save you once I stab you in the back. It'll be awfully romantic. I know how the old epics go. The drama." Lina: at 12:44 AM Goro snorted. "I'm the hero. Now that's something." Coyote: at 12:46 AM "Well, only so I can catch you and torment you occasionally. Wouldn't be a very fun story without that." Mishka sobered a bit. This was an amusing conversation. He shouldn't ruin it. "Hey. Ah." He scratched his head. "Before. On the ship. When you brought me a bottle of wine?” He still wondered if Goro was just trying to be nice in general or if he’d noticed Mishka was losing his mind at that specific moment. “We started drinking and playing the Three Questions game. You were drunk, and there was a moment where you said something about—ah.” Fuck, this was uncomfortable. “You said you thought we were friends. But you worded it a certain way. You said you thought we had been friends, as in previously, which meant we weren't currently.” He picked at dirt under his nails. “What’d I do?” he said awkwardly. He paused. "I mean, was it the fuckin'... mind control spell thing?" Lina: at 12:55 AM The conversation had suddenly become very uncomfortable, and Goro felt like running. But he had no excuse to do it. This was what he got, waiting until everyone else was inside and settling down for the night before he approached Mishka. "I guess I was a little sore over that, yeah. I deserved it, though. Figured it meant you were pissed at me, which was fair. I thought I'd gotten it wrong, all along. Like you couldn't be friends with someone who'd shoved a larva in your mouth, and I should've known better than to expect otherwise." He shrugged. "I don't know. What was the question, again?" Coyote: at 1:03 AM "Ah. Yeah, alright." Mishka was abruptly silent. "Alright, this isn't going to make it better, but I thought we were, like, playing. I mean, in retrospect maybe mind control-- ain't the best thing for that? I wasn't trying to... harm you, just fuck with you." It hadn't even occurred to him that Goro might be fucking scared of him, particularly the mind control bits. It felt like someone had pulled a blindfold off him, realizing that. He saw all their interactions in a very alarming light. A very interesting light, too, though. "Look, I wasn't pissed at you. You didn't shove that larvae in my mouth, Diva did," Mishka said. "If someone shoved a knife in my gut, I wouldn't blame the knife, I'd blame the person holding it. I'm sorry I got in your head. I didn't realize it would freak you out. Look, I--" He set the bottle down. "Hansel told me to be blunt with you, and I'm trying. He said you like people like Nixie and Larkin and Ripley. Straightforward folk. Here's the thing, though. Me? I'm not ever gonna be like that, kid. I'm trying and I've still over here cracking jokes about killing you. It's just who I fucking am. Can't change and don't want to." He waved his hand. "Anyway, the point is, if I start fucking with you too much, or I cross a line, tell me and I'll cut it out. Just say 'mercy' or something. Or cry 'uncle.' And if you fuck with me too hard back, I'll do the same. Fair?" He stuck his hand out. Lina: at 1:10 AM Goro took his hand. "Fair." He crossed his arms and gazed up at the stars again. Each time he breathed he squeezed his ribs a little on purpose. "Ah, just so you know. If I do... run off, I'll be coming back. So you don't have to try and track me down, or anything." Coyote: at 1:14 AM "Mm." Running off in to another continent, or running off as in taking a five-minute breather? Well. Either way. "Good to know." Lina: at 1:20 AM Goro held up the hand he'd used to shake Mishka's, and ran a finger along his palm. "You know that time you kissed me because you wanted a distraction?" Coyote: at 1:22 AM Mishka eyed him. He thought about saying: Goro, I kissed you because I fuckin' felt like it. If I wanted a distraction I'd read a book. Mishka didn't like showing his hand too much, though, and he'd already shown it a lot. "Sure. What of it?" Lina: at 1:28 AM What of it, indeed. Goro didn't know what the fuck he was getting at here; for a second he'd thought kissing would in fact make a nice distraction, but now the idea of having to ask for it... shit. Mishka had just done it, the last two times, without any prelude. And Goro had thought he'd handled it well, been cool-headed about it, but now he was feeling flustered all of the sudden. And he'd thought that problem was unique to Nixie. Fuck. Ten minutes of being honest and upfront with Mishka and he'd turned into a blushing schoolboy. He continued staring intently at his own hand. "You could, uh... you know... it's late. I mean, you must be... tired. Or not. Are you?" Coyote: at 1:32 AM "You know, you are fucking indecipherable, sometimes," Mishka said, amused. But thinking, viciously: If you want something, I'm going to make you fucking ask for it. He smiled pleasantly. Lina: at 1:36 AM Goro rubbed the back of his head vigorously, shoved the hair out of his eyes, squirmed around, and tried to devise a way to suggest they kiss that wouldn't be humiliating if Mishka laughed and said no. God, he was coming up blank. He wasn't made for this shit. "So you kiss a lot of people, or?" Oh, what the fuck was that. Coyote: at 1:38 AM "No. I don't like touching people, much. Except people I... do, I suppose," Mishka said, still amused. "I mean. I already told you. Five people. One hundred years." Lina: at 1:39 AM "Who do you? Like. Touching." Oh, god, he was just going to fucking die. What would be the easiest way? He still had the Leech on him. There had to be something dead nearby. A bird or a rat or something. Coyote: at 1:40 AM "Mm. People that catch my attention." Lina: at 1:41 AM "Five people in a hundred years have caught your attention? Not a very perceptive guy, it seems like." Coyote: at 1:46 AM Mishka started ticking off fingers. Aleksei hadn't caught his attention, but he'd been kind, and persistent, and had loved him, and Mishka had loved him-- platonically-- and that had sparked Mishka's curiosity enough to try it. The rest... "People catch my attention," Mishka said, waving his hand dismissively. "I just don't kiss most of them. Jonesy, Ripley, that odd fox person-- not my type, any of them, but interesting." Then, without saying anything, he rested his fingers lightly on Goro's leg and raised his eyebrows a bit. Just keeping the same mild smile. Lina: at 1:52 AM Huh, well, on the plus side, if this was a dream, that meant he didn't have to worry about the consequences. With how hard his heart was pounding, though, it sure felt fucking real. He was getting dizzy. "You fuckin'," he began, and couldn't think of what else to say. He grabbed Mishka by the collar and leaned in, fast, pecking him on the lips, then pulled back to see what would happen. Shit. Shit. This had to be real. Mishka was going to laugh at him, and then he'd just... well, he'd go find a dead bird to resurrect, is what he'd do. Coyote: at 2:04 AM Mishka briefly considered teasing him about it. Something like My grandmother kisses me longer than that. Poor kid looked nervous, though. And Mishka didn’t want him punish him for being forward. In fact he’d like to groom it. “Here,” he said. “Like this.” And slid closer. They were still sitting, so positioning was a little awkward, a tangle of legs and arms; Mishka wound up half in his lap, half sitting on the ground. He kissed Goro anyway, very gently, barely a whisper of a kiss. But made it slow. He rested his delicate fingers on Goro’s neck. He could feel a pulse beating there, rapidly, and couldn’t tell if it was absolute terror or arousal. That felt... Pretty fucking good, actually. Heady. Like he could do fucking anything right now, and there was no one around to hear it. And Goro— who said Why wouldn’t I be scared of you?— had come out here willingly, on his own, to be alone with Mishka. Like walking into a den of snakes. This was starting to make more sense. And then he slid away again and sat cross-legged on the ground. Lina: at 2:14 AM Goro slumped against the wall, breathing through his mouth like he'd just run a mile. "Thanks," he said. "That was... it was a good distraction." And he wanted more of it, but at the same time no, because he wasn't sure where it would end. Once you started a job, you had to finish it. That was the way he did everything else. Coyote: at 2:19 AM Mishka sat there and tried to decide if he wanted to kiss Goro or be a jackass. He kind’ve wanted to do both. “Next time I’m going to make you ask for it. I’m too generous with you. Ought to make you squirm more, first, in the future.” He rose to his feet— and pulled Goro up with him. “Hansel’s already in bed, no doubt. I ought to go join him. You’re going to bed, too.” Lina: at 2:21 AM Next time. Oh, thank god. "Help me. Nixie wants me to sleep in her bed." Coyote: at 2:22 AM “Oh how awful. A pretty girl would like to sleep with you. Help you what? You want tips? Goro, I don’t know how to sleep with women. You figure it out.” Lina: at 2:23 AM "No, no, no, no. I can't. I don't want to. I mean, I do, but-- fuck. Do you have a cot, or something?" Coyote: at 2:26 AM “Oh. Oh. I mean—“ Mishka stepped into the house. “You can just... share a bed with her without sleeping with her. If you don’t want to... there’s no cot, but we could drag a mattress from across the way. There’s a small house just outside there where a farming family lived— wasn’t close with them, but it looks like they ditched the place. They’ll have a small mattress there.” Lina: at 2:28 AM Goro honestly couldn't fucking tell if it was a joke. "How about a chair? There a chair in her room? I'll just keep watch." Coyote: at 2:33 AM Mishka stared at Goro for a few beats. “Y’know what?” Mishka said. “It’s late and I’ve got extra magic. Let’s go.” He roughly pulled Goro into his arms. Then he teleported them both, silently this time, to the small servants’ quarters on his property. There were four abandoned bunk beds. Mishka grabbed on mattress and heaved it off. He wrapped one arm around Goro again, then teleported. Silently, again. They appeared in the hallway next to Nixie’s door. “Mattress,” he said, dropping his grip on it. He pressed his fingers to his temples; teleporting large objects like that always gave him a migraine. “Drag it in and sleep on the floor. There y’go.” Lina: at 2:37 AM "That was... kind, but unnecessary." For one, he wasn't planning to sleep. For another, what if eventually he did want to share the bed, and then he'd have to come up with an excuse to get rid of the extra mattress, and... fuck, he could not pursue that line of thinking just now. "Thanks. Again." Coyote: at 2:40 AM “No worries. Safe sleeping. Nochi.” He stepped away. He always felt better after their weird little interactions. Lina: at 2:43 AM END Category:Text Roleplay